Tour Guide
by TallDarkAndHandsome
Summary: Damon and Elena were childhood friends but an incident drove them apart. Now, Elena is an aspiring travel magazine journalist and her latest assignment is to write a piece about her hometown Covington, Georgia which is exactly where her childhood "friend" lives.


Elena was at the waiting lounge at the London Heathrow airport. She was waiting for over five hours now. Shops surrounded her, glittering in New Year confetti. Although everyone hurried about, frantically running to get their luggage, catch the plane and be there on time, the joyous undertone of the impending new year was growing apparent. A fresh start. Given the choice, Elena would be anywhere but here. _Who celebrates the new year in an airport?_ But she was here because of her job. She wore a black pencil skirt with a red tee under a cream-white blazer for the trip. She hated plane rides. Might as well be in comfortable clothes to get her through it. Honestly she expected a little more excitement in the airport, but people seemed more zombish than ever. _Guess travel does that to everyone._

As she sat there, bored out of her mind, she pulled out Second Chances by Sharon Sala and started reading. She only looked up once when the book opened at an airport on New Year's Eve. _Talk about co-incidence._ Smiling to herself, she continued on. Suddenly, she felt a shadow over her body. She looked up and saw a handsome stranger, curiously looking at her.

"Yes?"

"Hello, can you tell me which way is Terminal 3?"

The man was in his early twenties, dressed in casual clothes and ruffled honey blonde hair. _Was it a wig?_ As she forgot what was asked of her, she looked him up and down. He was very attractive, she thought. _Definitely not my type. But still attractive._

"Turn right over there," she said pointing. "You'll see it."

"Thanks!"

Elena watched the stranger walk away. He seemed nice, she said to herself. She let her imaginative mind drift for a moment as she pictured their magical first date, their perfect first kiss, the successful marriage, happily growing old together with the end wiping them out of this world together while asleep in each other's arms. _Ok, officially way too many romance novels._

A match definitely approved by her dad, she thought snidely. The stranger would definitely get on her father's good side, eventually winning his heart.

Lost in the delusional future she created in her head, she failed to notice the man with the perfect hair turn around. He waved at her when she finally focused her eyes on him. Surprised, she smiled and waved back. There was not much distance between them but Elena could see a dimple on his face. His cheeks were lifted in a small smile. Elena turned away from him, desperate to let her fantasy stay a fantasy. _Never mind attractive! I am not jeopardizing my mental health for this conventionally attractive man! He seemed nice but who knows if he's actually good enough!_

She read enough cheesy romance novels in her teen years to know that this was usually how the boy and girl met. And contrary to what anyone said, her life tended to imitate whatever book she was reading right then. It was weird but over the years she learned to accept it.

And she went back to reading Second Chances.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. She yanked it out of her purse, glancing at the screen.

You have 1 new message.

She checked the time, it read: 11:40pm. Who would text her at this time? Curious, she opened it.

And she read it.

**Hey! Didn't hear from you in such a long time? Just realized I never deleted your contact from my phone. Dunno why. Happy advanced New Year btw! What're you doing? Let's have dinner.**

**- Blue Eyes**

_Blue Eyes._

How did he know she was coming?

All the repressed memories. Flooding back.

_He wants to have dinner with me._

_With me._

_Why?_

"No!" she yelled ay the phone, instigating annoyed glares from disgruntled, sleepy passengers. Blue Eyes didn't hear from her in a "long time".

_Ha!_

Understatement of the year and the year was coming to a close so she knew what she was talking about. A long time is six months or a year. Maybe two.

Not ten bloody years.

Elena had a lot of burning questions that bounced around in her head, inflaming it. _Why did he call her now? What did he mean he never deleted her contact?_ She went back to her inbox and saw now what she had previously missed.

She hadn't deleted his contact either.

Instead of 'unknown' in the Sender tab, she stared at his name.

Extremely confused and dealing with controlling the flow of childhood memories that threatened to pull her in any second, Elena read the message again. Should she call him back? 'Let's have dinner?' _Really?_

_Aaaah I have nothing to do but wait here. Why not?_

Hitting the threatening 'Call' button, she waited. And waited.

Then he picked up.

"Well, well Brownie I wasn't expecting you'd call back at all!"

He still did that annoying sing-song voice of his that she came to love. But Elena got pissed off for some reason. _Let's end the year with a resolution, shall we?_

"Well I was expecting to call back Blue Eyes. Like, hmm I don't know… TEN YEARS AGO."

She expected him to be taken aback into silence. And silence was what she got on the other end of the phone.

"Ten years, Blue Eyes, ten years. The ball was in your court, remember? _You_ decided to leave. Why now? Huh? What changed now? It can't have been because you 'just realized I never deleted your contact from my phone'. So what was it? "

"Oh come on Gilbert! I apologized remember? And you forgave me. Very loudly, if I recall." He said that last bit, in a low deep voice, that worked its wonders on anyone but her.

"Yeah, I did but only because you professed your undying love for me. And then ditched. Again."

Silence.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So when you said, 'I was expecting you to call back ten years ago', you meant the second time right? Or have I lost count of other heinous deeds that you took personally that have been committed by stupid, drunken teenage me?"

Elena really tried not to but finally gave in and laughed. It was always their main specialty, making them laugh when the other one is angry or sad. Breaking through each other's acts.

"You say it like it's in your past. Aren't you still stupid?"

"Stupid, if you mean drunk on love for you, baby."

"Don't start. Clearly not lost your charms then? Still same old tall dark and handsome?"

"I'm not going to spoil the surprise. Have dinner with me and see for yourself."

"Nice try hon, but I ain't fallin' for it."

"Yeah, you got that Southern going gal!"

"So have you boy!"

They both had to giggle at that.

"Where are you now?"

"I'm… at Heathrow."

"London airport?"

"That's the one."

"Where are you headed?"

Elena paused for a moment, silently trying to hear if he knew what was coming- "Georgia."

"Don't tell me… you're coming to COVINGTON?"

"Yeah, yeah. You knew that already, didn't you? Why else would you contact me? I mean, it's too much of a coincidence. Now don't get any ideas. It's purely work-related."

"No, I really didn't know. Why what are you coming for?"

"I have to do a piece for the magazine called TNT. It's really big in London."

"Journalist, huh? Guess you're livin' the dream!"

"Oh well, the pay's not too bad. If I do this piece right and 'capture the essence of the city in your words' " she mocked her editor's high-pitched whiny voice, "I'm going to get a pay raise."

"Oh I really hope that's not your real voice."

"Shut up."

"Tell you what. Come have dinner with me-"

"Did I not just explain what's the only thing I'm going to be doing in Covington?"

"Listen to me. Go on dinner with me. Write about it. Get a little taste of the city. I'll tell you all you missed, familiarize you with your hometown again. An insider's point of view. It's exactly what you want."

"No."

"Oh come on! I know you wont get a better tour guide. Or a better catch, really. I'm it. I'm the oldest wine, rarest fish, the shiniest diamond." Elena stayed silent, waiting for him to finish. "Think about this, rationally." He finally said.

"You talk big. Prove it to me that this will be purely professional. None of our old feuds."

"It will. Trust me. We'll just be friends, I promise." He paused for a second and changed his tone. "I know you'll come."

"What makes you so sure? You talk like you have me convinced - you're nowhere near it!"

"Why else did you call me back?"

Elena smiled a full smile. He knew her better than she did. Even after all those years.

"I'll get you at the airport."

The phone ended as the beeping sound, replaced his voice.

Her heart kicked back into action, pounding hard inside her; she wondered if her red tee was lightly pulsing. She pulled the ends of her blazer close together. Slowly, the information sunk in. She was going to see her only best friend again. And she was going to see him in the place that preserved her memories of the young girl with not a care in the world before her mom's car accident. She would hug the boy, man now, who helped her through the pain, healing her with his company. He always said, he was lonely as well and Elena snatched away his sorrows. Elena hoped that was true. She hoped they could mean the same thing for each other again. She wanted to lose herself in those blue eyes that her brain decided to preserve in her hard drive.

And who knows if he's changed? Who can really tell when a person likes you unless outright stated? She could try to be completely business-oriented – come for the story, write it and leave – but Damon was never going to let that happen. She knew him. He gets what he wants everytime. He is not perfect. He has flaws like any normal three-dimensional human being.

So, there was a very slight chance that they might actually make this work. Platonic friendship seemed impossible, no matter what Damon promised. If they did step into the relationship territory, they would definitely not be a match approved by her dad. Damon wouldn't win his heart. He wouldn't even try.

But he'd win hers.

And that is all that mattered.


End file.
